Hearts And Patches
by Ranguvar27
Summary: Written in response to a request from MistyDay for a story about Stayne's eye patch. Stayne and Alannah tell Katarina the story behind his old patch, and how he got his new one.


Hearts and Patches

Katarina had been exploring the cottage, and found a small box hidden underneath her parents' bed. Naturally, being the curious five year old she was, she had pulled it out and begun rifling through the contents. They hadn't been too interesting-some flowers, a sheaf of letters that she didn't bother to read, as she was sure they were love letters, and other objects. But one object had caught her eye. It was a small black heart made of some strange material with a black ribbon dangling from the ends. She had tilted the heart to get a better look, and to her surprise it had turned red. She tilted it again, and it was black. Her curiosity piqued, she spent the next four minutes tilting the heart at every angle, giggling as it changed color. 'I wonder if Daddy knows what this is.' She placed it in her pocket, and went out of the room.

"Daddy, what's this?" Katarina held the small object in her hand. Stayne took it from her, and his jaw dropped in shock.

Alannah was feeding Michael when she heard Stayne give a shocked cry. Wondering what had happened, she quickly ran into the room. She sighed quietly, and then walked over to the couch, sitting next to Stayne. His face was tight, and he stared in disbelief at the object in his hands. "Ilosivic?"

Stayne looked at Katarina, and then spoke with an effort. "Where did you find this?"

Katarina looked down at the floor, and mumbled. "Under the bed." Alannah glanced at her, and then turned to Stayne. "Ilosivic, what is it?"

He handed it to her, a grimace on his face. "My old eye patch. You know, the one that you swore to me you threw away years ago?" He glared at her. "I guess you forgot."

Alannah shook her head. "No, I didn't forget. I never told you I threw it away."

Stayne laughed mirthlessly. "Don't try the logic twisting on me, Alannah! Why would you keep that?"

Alannah sighed. "As a reminder of what you've overcome."

Stayne sighed. "Right. I've overcome so much."

Katarina, sensing that her daddy was upset, climbed onto the couch and into his lap. "Daddy? What is that, and why don't you like it?"

Stayne sighed, kissing her on the top of her head. "It's just something that I used to wear, that's all."

Alannah glared at him. "Ilosivic, she's old enough to know the whole story. Tell her." Stayne looked at her, startled. She met his gaze steadily. "She would learn the truth soon enough. Time knows that the Ladies of the Court still love gossiping about that. Wouldn't you rather she hears the story from you?" Stayne gulped, and nodded. Alannah smiled, shifting Michael to her other side. "So tell her. I'll fill in where I can." She handed him the patch.

Stayne turned the patch over in his hands, gathering his thoughts together. He smiled slightly as he noticed that it still changed color. He took a breath. "Katarina, you know how I lost my eye, right?"

Katarina nodded. "Momma told me. You were attacked by the JubJub Bird. She told me that you don't have an eye anymore because of it."

Stayne nodded. "That's right. Well, once I was a bit better, I got an eye patch. It wasn't anything special, just a normal patch. Then came my…pardon." He laughed bitterly. "Three days after I agreed to work for the Red Queen, she called me into her chambers saying she had something to give me…."

_Stayne knocked on the door, a sense of dread enveloping him. He had agreed to serve a woman he despised to save his own sorry neck, and he was already regretting his decision. When a guard had come down to the dungeon with the request from the Queen, Stayne had been tempted to tell the guard that he had made a mistake. But the Guard had made it clear that any answer that was not 'yes' would not be accepted. He sighed, and agreed. _

_The door opened, and Iracebeth smiled ingratiangly at him. He resisted the urge to grimace, and bowed. "You asked to see me, Majesty?" _

_Iracebeth smiled, and gestured for him to enter. He walked in, and she turned to him, a serious look on her face. "I want to give you something that will show that you are my favorite. I thought about it all night, and I think I have just the thing. Are you attached at all to that patch you are wearing?" _

_Stayne touched the patch, and shook his head. "Not inordately, Majesty. I just didn't want to leave my socket exposed to the elements." _

_Iracebeth nodded, then went over to the table, taking a small box off it. "Then this is for you. I want you to wear it." She handed him the box, and he opened it, pulling out he contents. _

_It was a heart shaped eye patch, red in color, with a black ribbon dangling from the ends. "Thank you, Majesty. It's very nice." _

_Iracebeth nodded. "It is, isn't it? Tilt it towards you." Stayne did so, and gaped as it changed color. "I had a hard time finding someone who could still make things like that, Stayne. You see, I wanted something very special for you, my dearest Knave. As long as you are near me, it will be red. But if you are away, it will be black. Isn't that clever?" _

_Stayne gulped. "Very, Majesty." _

Alannah looked at Stayne, surprised. "I never knew Iracebeth gave you that patch! I thought you bought it." She sighed. "No wonder it holds bad memories for you. I'm sorry, love."

Stayne smiled. "I never told you. I never told anyone. I had thought that it was gone forever." He sighed, looking at the patch in his hand. "I guess it wasn't as gone as I thought."

Katarina looked up at him. "Did you get that patch you have now from that lady?"

Stayne stared at her, confused. "What lady? Do you mean Iracebeth?" At her nod, he laughed. "Little one, Iracebeth was the Red Queen, better known as the bloody big head. I got this patch from your Momma as a present."

Katarina grinned. "Really? When did she give it to you? Did you like it? Why did she give it to you?" Alannah and Stayne laughed.

"One question at a time, little one!" Alannah said, laughing. "I gave it to him shortly after he became the Captain of the Guard…."

_Stayne was ecstatic. He had been appointed the Captain of the Guard only a week before, and already he was realizing that it was a much more rewarding job than being Captain of the Card Guards. For one thing, he wasn't constantly worrying that one of his men was a spy for the Queen. He was also expecting his first child. He had been deliriously happy when he found out Alannah was pregnant, and his excitement and anticipation only grew with each passing day. He thanked Time everyday that he had met her. _

_Now he walked towards their bedchamber, mind eagerly racing over what he was going to do when he saw her. He grinned wickedly, and entered. She was lying in bed, eyes closed as she slept. He climbed into bed, gently kissing her, and she opened her eyes and smiled at him. _

"_I was wondering when you would get back. I wanted to give you something." She rolled her eyes at his wicked smirk. "Not that! Well, at least not yet." She reached under her pillow and pulled out a small wrapped box. "Here. In honor of you becoming the White Captain." She pressed it into his hand, and he quickly unwrapped it. _

_It was an eye patch. He looked at it, then at her. She blushed. "I just thought, you probably don't want to wear that heart anymore, since well, it's a heart, and that's the Red Queen's symbol, and I tried to find a patch that would represent the White Queen, but I couldn't find any that looked nice enough, and…" she was cut off by him kissing her. "So do you like it?" _

_Stayne didn't answer, but reached behind and undid the ties that held his old patch in place. He tossed it aside, and then swiftly turned his head away. Alannah placed her hand on his face, turning him towards her. "Ilosivic, don't. I won't turn away from you, don't turn away from me." She gently ran her fingers around his socket, and then kissed him. "You are still the most handsome man I've ever known." _

_Stayne gulped. "Thank you, my love. For everything." _

Katarina sighed happily. "That's so romantic! But what else did you give Daddy, Momma?" she asked guilessly. Stayne laughed at the blush that came over Alannah's face. She glared at him. "Katarina, do me a favor and smack your father. He is being very naughty." Stayne smirked at her, and then jumped as Katarina smacked his arm.

"Ouch!" he said in mock hurt, rubbing his arm. Katarina giggled. "You are quite violent, little one."

"Momma told me to!" Katarina protested, laughing. She stopped laughing, and looked at Stayne with a curious expression. "Daddy? Why didn't you want to wear the heart patch anymore?"

Stayne smiled. "Because my heart had been claimed by another." He turned the heart patch over in his hands, and then stood up from the couch. He walked over to the fireplace, and tossed the patch into the flames. He watched as it burned. 'That's the last thing that ties me to the Bloody Big Head.'

He sighed in relief, and then walked back over to the couch.


End file.
